Coal is the main stay of Indian Energy system and about 80 % of coal production is supplied to power sector and the rest goes to other industrial uses .With "Make In India' initiatives and higher growth projection of the economy, the demand for coal for both power sectors and other industrial uses has been growing. In order to meet the demand of coal, the Government has planned to increase coal production by 7-8 % per year to reach 1.3 Billion Tonne by 2024-25.

The details of Coal production State-wise during last five years are given below:-

(in Million Tonnes)

The Government has taken several steps to ramp up domestic coal production. 100% Foreign Direct Investment is allowed for commercial mining. An Inter-Ministerial Committee has also been constituted in 2020 for the purpose of coal import substitution. Except allowing for very essential import like coking coal and other higher grade coal which are presently non-substitutable, effort are being taken to substitute import of lower grade coal by increasing domestic production. Some of the Major initiatives taken to increase domestic production of coal are as follows:

• Single Window Clearance portal has been launched for the coal sector to speed up the operationalisation of coal mines. It is an unified platform that facilitates grant of clearances and approvals required for starting a coal mine in India.
• Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 amended to allow sale up to 50% of their annual production after meeting the requirement of the end use plant.
• Commercial auction of coal blocks on revenue sharing basis and allotment of specific coal blocks for captive end use.
• A Monitoring Committee has been constituted under the Chairmanship of Secretary (Coal) with Chief Secretaries from respective Host States, Secretary (MoEF& CC), Coal Controller Organization (CCO) & CMPDIL as members of the Committee to conduct regular reviews and to expedite the development of blocks.
• To increase production through MDO model, Coal India Ltd. has identified 15 MDO Projects having combined capacity of 168.6 Million Tonne per year (MTY) of which Six MDO Projects have already been awarded with capacity of 96.74 MTY.
• Capacity addition through approval of new & expansion PR: CIL has approved 52 projects during FY21 & FY 22. These projects will add additional capacity of more than 250 MTY and projected to contribute additional production of about 102 Mt by FY 25.
• Advanced Technologies like surface miners, etc. for open cast mining and Power supported Longwall (PSLW), High wall Mining, continuous miner etc. for underground mines are being deployed tor efficiency and higher production of coal.
• To improve evacuation efficiency, 44 First Mile Connectivity (FMC) projects are being implemented to consolidate CIL’s effort towards upgradation and expansion of coal evacuation infrastructure and minimize transportation of coal through road mode in the first mile.
• CIL has also invested in the construction of 7 critical new rail line projects for its expansion Brownfield mining projects and Greenfield projects in Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand with an estimated capital investment of Rs 20,000 Cr.

This information was given by the Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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MG/RK